Minnesota Gophers coach Bob Motzko likes to say that in college hockey, you get three kicks of the garbage can per season. At the NHL level, Wild coach John Hynes said, you don’t get three.

I just think we need a little bit more there,” John Hynes said prior to the game in Chicago, noting that he had spoken to both players on Sunday morning to let them know of the lineup changes.

PAUL - The Minnesota Wild will be without their star forward Kirill Kaprizov for a good stretch of time. He missed practice on Tuesday after playing in the last three games. He had two assists in those three games but was feeling uncomfortable,

If Kaprizov has surgery this week for a lower-body injury that has been ailing him since December, he would miss six weeks, per sources.

Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes expressed his frustration regarding the referee's explanation following a controversial no-call on Connor McDavid's elbow to Marcus Johansson on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Wild have been better on the road this season and they have another chance to show why on Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes is "cautiously optimistic" that star forward Kirill Kaprizov and defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be in the lineup on Thursday.

On their seventh try, they finally eluded Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek 5 minutes, 43 seconds into the first period when Spurgeon sent the puck past Mrazek’s blocker after a 4-on-2 rush for the Wild. Marco Rossi factored into the play to pick up an assist on the Wild’s past four goals, tying a team record for the second time this season.

"We're choosing to lose," coach John Hynes said after the Wild's woes at home continued with a 5-4 loss to the Flames.

Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov needs surgery on the lingering lower-body injury he recently returned from and will be sidelined for at least a month. General manager Bill Guerin said during practice on Tuesday that Kaprizov is expected to be back with the team later this season,

Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov will be out a minimum of four weeks after the surgery. Follow this tracker for the latest NHL news.

Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes wouldn't make a full proclamation at Wednesday morning's practice, but says he's "cautiously optimistic" Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon will return this week - possible as soon as Thursday's home game against Utah.